Yesterday, Thursday August 29, my team and I took an 11-hour bus ride from our little country city back into the capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. My team is staying at a very tiny hostel for a few days until we meet up with the rest of our squad on September 1 to debrief our first month together. This is my first experience staying in a hostel and the owners are so friendly, PLUS I have a whole BED. Sleeping on the floor for the past three weeks was difficult, especially since my sleeping pad popped one week in. I plan on going to the outdoor store soon to find a replacement, so no worries!
Leaving my first host was such a hard thing and I am still processing all that took place. I can hardly even wrap my mind around the fact that month one is basically over, and month two is staring me in the face. Jesus did so many amazing things this past month, both extraordinary and ordinary. I am going to attempt to share my highlights of the month as I am processing.
The first two weeks at our host home I had the privilege of teaching 15 children English, play games, dance, and discover new parks all over Baruun-Urt. These kids loved the Cha-Cha Slide, memory card games, The Hokey Pokey, playing Hide n’ Seek, and Cops n’ Robbers (boys versus girls, of course). We probably had more fun than we did learn actual English, but I guarantee they know that “Ja-nan” loves them, and so does Eycy (Jesus).
Each Sunday at church our host had two of our team members give a testimony during service. It was crazy to me because it was not a special “testimony time” during their service. We were actually just partaking in what they do every Sunday! I would say one half of their Sunday morning service every week is dedicated to building the church bodies faith by sharing testimonies. Many stand and give credit to God for the work He has done in their lives and families. Almost everyone on our team got to partake. On the second Sunday, a team member got to share a testimony and opened the hearts of many women in the room which confirmed a plan our team had been praying about for week three. The third Sunday I got to share a part of my testimony about God’s restoration in my family, and got to speak hope into families who are still believing for their Buddhist family members to follow Jesus. It was a memorable morning.
Me and my friend Buca! She is the worship leader from our host home! she also manages the coffee shop. She is one of the hardest workers I know, passionate for Jesus, and deeply loves everyone around her. God used Buca to confirm a dream he placed inside of me a long time ago to help train up worship leaders at local churches around the world. I will never forget her.
The rest of this Sunday was Sabbath, and it was extremely special to me. I went to hang my hammock in the park to read and just rest from our busy week. As I was walking out of our host home T tagged along and went to the park with me. We sat in my hammock and I read as he was drawing pictures. He drew a picture of the hammock and us and Jesus. This was a special moment because I wanted to make sure that T believed in Jesus and knew that he loved him. I was overjoyed when I asked him if he believed in Jesus and if he knew that he loved him. He told me yes, and that he loved Jesus. It was simple, and it was sweet. The next moment I may or may not have pushed him out of my hammock, but we reconciled later with ice cream! 😉
The third week our team hosted a women’s meeting on Monday night called Beauty for Ashes. Our team had been praying about doing this for a couple of weeks and when it was confirmed we began planning. We planned snacks, décor, icebreakers, worship, and three teaching sessions based around the woman at the well, her worth to Jesus, and her forgiveness. I was placed in charge of worship. Up to this point I had been a part of worship on Sundays, but I had not led a song. Thankfully, I had been intentional about learning the songs they did on Sunday, so I was totally ready for this moment. I had the pleasure of leading a song in Mongolian!! I was so excited, and the faces of the women when I started singing was PRICELESS. They were stunned and so excited I had learned a song in their language. Not only was the time of worship powerful, but the Lord genuinely broke down walls in women through the night and healed brokenness. Some women wept as they shared experiences they had never dealt with before. It was beautiful, true BEAUTY FOR ASHES.
The next day was Tuesday. I woke up unusually earlier before the rest of my team. I just really wanted some water and to take a walk. I left around 8am even though I knew the markets do not open until 9am. I was enjoying my walk and I was enjoying the challenge of trying to find a market that was open early. When I came to the city square I ran into one of the church women from the night before. She is a single woman who I had noticed shortly after we arrived because she has some disabilities and her left arm drags.
I was happy to see her and she was happy to see me as well! She called a market and asked them to open early for me, and they DID! Favor ain’t fair y’all. She walked to the market with me, bought me gum, and we walked back to the square together. We sat down on a bench and she pointed to her arm, pointed to the sky and pointed to me and asked me to pray for her healing. I was so ready to see a miracle, but I didn’t see her strength in her arm return. I do believe that she will be healed!! Pray for her!!
That same night we hosted an open mic night at the coffee shop. THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN. We had many teenagers come out and we played guitar, sang worship songs, and all kinds of just fun music. We jammed out to Justin Bieber and some Aaron Carter, hahaha. This night was just so much fun and the joy of the Lord was all in it.
The next day, Wednesday, was our last day. We spent the morning pulling weeds (yard work in the church compound), and just communing with our people for the last day. However, they gave us the sweetest going away party that night. There was food, stories, words of encouragement, and they even gave us gifts! It was a beautiful time and I am so grateful to have been able to partner and come alongside of the leaders in this community to bring and see Kingdom. I got see Rivers and Wells of His Presence and Kingdom just as He said I would!
Please pray for Transformation Mongolia Church – Baruun-Urt to receive their license from the government to evangelize freely. Either way they carry the Gospel, but obtaining a license would greatly benefit them and expand their borders to minister more effectively.
So now as we meet our squad, please pray for our team as we plan and work toward getting our Visa’s for our next country!
Leaders Don’t Quit,
Jordan
